Him band biography book

With a strong and loyal fan base across Europe, and after their US breakthrough in , hits such as Wicked Game and Join Me have long since reached anthem status among HIM fans worldwide. In , the band recorded their eighth studio album. This authentic unauthorised secret biography retraces the steps of HIM's creative mastermind and his band mates from their early days in the suburbs of Helsinki to global rock stardom.

Release 03 June Search for a digital library with this title Search by city, ZIP code, or library name Learn more about precise location detection. View more libraries With the release of their debut album in , HIM and their charismatic frontman, lead singer Ville Valo, took the music world by storm, unveiling their trademark sound that eventually would make them Finland's top selling international band of all time.

Please try again later. Verified Purchase. I love how informative it is and how it talks about their history from their formation in the s to information of previous members in the past and the final lineup. It covers from their early days up to the Dark Light Era. It's in almost perfect condition! Super satisfied! The members, past, present and the different "variations" of HIM.

Lisa Hooser Illinois. I Love this book. Most the details in the book one can find online. However, it's nice to have all the information in one place. The book was used in great condition. It's looks brand new except a very small tear on the back cover. The pages were un-marked in great condition.. One person found this helpful. I would definetly recommend this book to anyone who wants to know about this band, or anybody who is already a fan and doesn't have it yet?

For those of you who don't want to plunk down 75 plus dollars for the finnish HIM book, this one is a nice alternative: lots of BIO, many rarer photos and lots of quotes AND: nice clear photos: not the grainier versions you see in so many fan books. See more reviews. Top reviews from other countries. Translate all reviews to English.

Report Translate review to English. I've been looking for this book so so long I finaly found it! HIM is one of the most commercially successful Finnish bands of all time , with sales of over ten million records. HIM has also received numerous accolades, including eight Emma Awards. The band is known for its distinct sound, which combines more melodic and melancholic elements with heavier influences.

This made it difficult for audiences to categorize HIM's music, which led to the band coining the term "love metal". HIM is also known for its logo, the heartagram, which has made numerous appearances in other media. Valo played six-string bass, which substituted for guitar, while Mige also played bass. The band broke up shortly thereafter, when Mige began his national military service.

Together they recorded a four-track demo, which featured Valo on drums and vocals, and Linde on guitar and bass. Valo originally intended to remain as the bassist for the group, but took up the role of lead vocalist out of necessity, after they were unable to find another singer. The band's next show was also at the Teatro, this time performing Type O Negative covers, for which they recruited keyboardist Janne "Burton" Puurtinen.

His Infernal Majesty continued to record several more demos, sending them to Nuclear Blast , Roadrunner and Spinefarm Records , among others, all of whom passed on the band. HIM began recording its full-length debut album in with Hiili Hiilesmaa once again producing. Due to the band's minimal studio experience, Hiilesmaa played a critical role in helping "build HIM's sound", for which Valo dubbed him the honorary sixth member of the group.

He was replaced by Jussi-Mikko "Juska" Salminen. He was replaced by Mika "Gas Lipstick" Karppinen. Razorblade Romance was mostly well received by critics. Soundi gave the album four out of five stars, while Blabbermouth. They were also hit with several near-fatal accidents, where Valo nearly fell off a balcony and Salminen ended up in the emergency room after a prank gone wrong.

In late , HIM began demoing material for its third album with producer T. Satisfied with the results, the band initially wanted to release these demos as its next album. The recording process for HIM's third album lasted approximately eleven months, which greatly affected the material. Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights received mixed reviews, with AllMusic calling it "way too clean" and "utterly boring".

Juntunen, was released. He would go on to work with the band extensively, promoting them and directing several of their music videos. Following a two month break in early , HIM regrouped and began rehearsing for its next album, which saw the band working with Hiili Hiilesmaa again. According to Valo: "After what we considered a disappointment with Deep Shadows and Brilliant Highlights , because there were so many chefs in the kitchen, we wanted to be a band [ Valo called this "a statement of intent [ The band were also set on releasing a live album, tentatively titled Live Metal , in November , but the record was ultimately scrapped in favor of new material.

The singles peaked at number one and two, respectively, in Finland, [ 78 ] [ 79 ] while "Solitary Man" reached number nine on the UK Singles Chart. I , a collection of music videos, live performances and other bonus material. The New York Times described the material as "sturdier than ever", while Q Magazine called the album "a collection of irresistible pop-rock anthems".

NME , meanwhile, described the record as "wimpy", while AllMusic branded it as "glossy and user-friendly". His alcohol abuse had worsened, which resulted in him vomiting and defecating blood at one point. Things came to a head when Valo suffered a nervous breakdown during the recording process. While he did manage to recover momentarily, he began drinking again during the mixing process.

The winners of the contest would also be featured on a forthcoming live DVD. Gas' injury required extensive rest, which left the band in limbo, unsure whether to break up or find a replacement. However, due to an online leak , the release was pushed up to 7 September. This was echoed by Alternative Press , who stated that "within HIM's impressive canon, it's among their best.

HIM was scheduled to begin its North American tour in support of Tears on Tape on 3 May , but the tour was cancelled after Ville Valo suffered a severe asthma attack and was diagnosed with presumptive pneumonia. In his announcement, Gas stated: "There is no drama, bad blood or any negativity involved in my departure. I simply feel that it's time for me to move on as a musician.

Valo later stated that the band would begin work on a new album eventually, but no release date had been set. We completed the pattern, solved the puzzle and turned the key. Thank you. We got along well together, but something was lacking. The stars weren't in alignment.

Him band biography book

It was fun playing the old songs, everybody got along well together, but that spark was missing. Music critics have referred to the music of HIM as gothic rock , [ 97 ] [ 98 ] [ ] [ ] gothic metal , [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] alternative rock , [ ] [ ] [ ] alternative metal , [ ] and dark rock. According to Ville Valo, the term "love metal" was coined as a response to people having difficulties categorizing HIM's music.

In Finnish tradition, our music is very melancholic. We've always been proud to be the torchbearers for Sabbath, Type O, Paradise Lost and Anathema, and a lot of those bands. On its debut album Greatest Lovesongs Vol. Lyrically the songs of HIM largely deal with themes of love. According to Valo: "I feel like there is no subject more important for a song than relationships.

It's the only thing that moves me. I don't necessarily get excited about the whole of Tolkien , I just get excited about Uruk-hai. Just a little detail that just makes my mind work overdrive. A central part of HIM's image has been the heartagram, which is the trademarked symbol of the band, created by vocalist Ville Valo on his twentieth birthday in It has since appeared on nearly all releases from the band.

In the band's early days, HIM's image was heavily characterized by occult and satanic imagery. The use of the number "" was prominent in lyrics, as well as song and album titles. All of the band were also big fans of black metal. However, the group have maintained that none of them were seriously interested in satanism. Instead their interest was about mere "fascination", as well as a tongue in cheek hats off to their favorite bands.

When asked about the band's image in , Valo responded: "I think we're pretty much the same [offstage]. The only difference is I'm not necessarily wearing eyeliner every day.